The Impact of Food Waste November 16, 2015 Email According to this PDF fact sheet by the NRDC, the United States invests much of its natural resourcesĀ on growing food: 50 percent of land and 80 percent of fresh water in the United States is used for agriculture. Meanwhile, 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted, and 41 million Americans live in food-insecure households.